cannabisnews.com: Assembly Mulls Industrial Hemp Bill
Assembly Mulls Industrial Hemp Bill
Posted by CN Staff on March 07, 2005 at 07:13:30 PT
By Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff Writer
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
Santa Cruz -- Move over, strawberries? Step aside, lettuce?OK, that’s probably an exaggeration. The top cash crops of the Central Coast likely won’t be supplanted in economic importance, but the distant cousin of one of the area’s more illicit crops could hold promise for the state’s farmers: hemp.
Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is pushing a bill that would allow California farmers to grow industrial hemp. That comes about a year after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the federal government did not have the authority to regulate hemp under the 1970 Controlled Substance Act.Organic farmers are seeing green. Money, that is.Supporters of AB 1147 say hemp could put more cash in farmer’s pockets and help replenish the soil for nutrient-thirsty crops like berries."It would be great for organic farmers as a rotation crop," said Vanessa Bogenholm, who grows organic strawberries, raspberries and vegetables in the Pajaro Valley.The plant fares better in more dry climates, but Bogenholm said it would be a good candidate in this area for growing in the summer months in between harvests of more traditional crops.Bogenholm estimated hemp could produce about $1,600 per acre for growers, growing to about 6 feet tall in 48 days.Leno’s measure has the support of the Santa Cruz-based California Certified Organic Farmers, a state trade association.State Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, said he hadn’t yet taken a position, but was studying the measure in light of its support from the organic farmers group. He said the bill’s chances of success may lie with the position traditional farming organizations take."If the state Farm Bureau throws its weight behind it, it has a shot," Laird said.John Eiskamp, a Pajaro Valley berry grower and board member with the county Farm Bureau, said he had no opinion about the bill, but didn’t oppose it."If it’s something that agriculture can benefit from, that’s fine," Eiskamp said.The California Farm Bureau has not taken a position on the bill, said spokesman Dave Kranz.Backers extol the virtues of industrial hemp that is used for paper, clothing, rope and food products. It is hailed for nutritional benefits because it contains amino acids and omega-6 oils.Companies that make hemp-related products now have to get it from overseas farms. John Roulac, founder of Sebastopol-based food company Nutiva, said the company will use about 3,500 acres of hemp this year and estimates it will need about 10,000 acres by 2008. The company now gets its hemp from farms in Western Canada for products like its energy bars, protein powder and hemp oil."All that money we’re sending to Canadian farms could go to California farmers," Roulac said.Sales of food products made with hemp have found a niche in recent years, said Scott Mason, grocers manager at Staff of Life."They haven’t really grown, but they haven’t fallen off," Mason said. "They’ve sustained their popularity."Of course, the big obstacle for a bill getting passed is hemp’s relationship to marijuana. While they come from the same family, the level of psychoactive chemical in hemp, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, is less than 1 percent compared with 3 to 15 percent in marijuana.Bogenholm jokes a joint the size of a telephone pole wouldn’t even give someone a headache.The Drug Enforcement Administration sought to ban foods containing hemp in 2002, but backed off last year after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling. A spokesman for the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy said he was not familiar with the bill, but that the federal government’s policy on hemp was based on skepticism about its backers’ intent."The federal government’s hemp policies proceed from the understanding that hemp has been used as a Trojan horse of marijuana legalization," said Office of National Drug Control Policy spokesman Tom Riley.Hemp production would be tightly controlled under Leno’s bill.Farmers wanting to grow hemp would be required to obtain a license from the state Department of Food and Agriculture and would not be authorized to sell or trade hemp seed outside California. They also would report on what companies buy their hemp. A person with a criminal conviction would be ineligible for a license, according to the bill.Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Author: Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff Writer Published: March 7, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/CannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
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Comment #31 posted by potpal on March 09, 2005 at 04:58:17 PT
Heritage...
...give it back to these US communities...Hempwallace, AR US
Hemp Swamp Brook, CT, US
Hempstead Brook, CT, US
Hemp Key, FL US
Hemp, GA US
Hemp Factory Branch, IL US
Hemp Ridge, KY, Shelby, US
Hemphill, KY, Letcher, US
Hemphill, LA US
Hempfield Lake, MI US
Hemphill Lake, MN US
Hemple, MO US
Hemp Hill, NH US
Hempstead, NY, Nassau, US
Hempstead, NY, Rockland, US
Hempstead Gardens, NY, Nassau, US
Hemp Patch Branch, NC, US
Hemphill Bald, NC, US
Hemphill Creek, NC, US
Hemphill Creek, NC, US
Hemphill Creek, NC, US
Hemphill Knob, NC, US
Hemphill Knob, NC, US
Hempfield, PA, US
Hemp Branch, SC, US
Hemphill Lake, SC, US
Hemp Branch, SC, US
Hemphill Lake, SC, US
Hemp Fork, VA, US
Hemp Mill Branch, VA, US
Hemppatch Branch, VA, US
Hemppatch Mountain, VA, US
Hemp Hill Creek, WA, US
Hempel Creek, WA, US
Hempel Lake, WA, US
Hemphill, WV US
Hempton Lake, WI US
...Weed, CA
Weed Patch Hill, IN, US
Weed Patch Mountain, NC, US
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Comment #30 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on March 08, 2005 at 09:05:14 PT:
HEMP FOR MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL, WWW.HEMPCAR.ORG
And what about Hemp for fuel of our automobiles, www.HempCar.org??? I have written several letters to the only House Energy And Commerce Committee member "representing" New Jersey, namely, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., asking for the development of alternative sources of fuel for our automobiles, but I have not heard of him submitting any Bills to Congress calling for it and have not heard a peep from him about it. I notice he voted for the Bill to increase penalties of broadcasters who use "indecent" language over the airways; he voted against H.R. 481 [which would require election of replacement Congressmen in the event of a catastrophe, rather than appointment] which is presently pending in the U.S. Senate, and he has stated since last June that he will not vote for any Med Pot Bill unless it has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration! As far as I am concerned, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., is part of the pharmaceutical cartel whose interest is in furthering GOVERNMENT SUPREMACY rather than the interest of Americans! Yet, the majority of the sheeple will vote for the two-headed snake [Republicans and Democrats], rather than vote for 3rd parties such as Ralph Nader, Libertarian Party candidates, and Green Party candidates, assuming they have learned who caused the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which was caused by an F.B.I. Agent, See: www.expertwitnessradio.org [with audiotape coverage of the F.B.I. agent saying he will provide the bomb!!], the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing [caused by F.B.I. informants and the BATF, FBI, and CIA did NOTHING to stop it!!], and the September 11th airplane hijacking & crashes, See www.copvcia.com, the WACO massacre, the Branch Davidson massacre, the history and intent of government schooling, www.johntaylorgatto.com, the history and intent of the Marijuana laws, ww.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.html, www.jackherer.com [click on "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" at the top of the Web page], the history and intent of the gun control laws, www.jpfo.org!
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Comment #29 posted by siege on March 07, 2005 at 21:54:16 PT
hemp food
If they let hemp food come on the market then they will have to make some new sickness's to keep the
pharmaceutical's in business with out hemp you have
Diabetes In the last 80 years it has become enormously successful at shutting out competitive voices that attempt to point out the"" fraud"" involved in modern diabetes treatment. It has matured into a religion.
People think the FDA is protecting them. It isn't. What the FDA is doing and what the public thinks it's doing are as different as night and day
The financial and political influence of this medical community completely controls virtually every diabetes publication in the country.The rest is subsidised by diabetes manufacturers with a vested commercial interest in ""preventing diabetics"" from ""curing"" their diabetes. They ridiculed the use of ""glycaemic tables,"" which are actually very helpful to the diabetic. They promoted the use of margarine as heart healthy, long after it was well understood that margarine causes diabetes and promotes heart failure.
Testing required for these approvals would have to be enormously expensive to prevent other, ""unapproved, medications from becoming competitive.""
This is the origin of the classic medical protocol of "treating the symptoms". By doing this, both the drug company and the doctor could prosper in business, and the patient, while not being CURED of his disease, was sometimes temporarily relieved of some of his symptoms.
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Comment #28 posted by ekim on March 07, 2005 at 21:49:09 PT
Bono on short list of World Bank Head
Bono is helping the world he would make a great compassionate friend of the people.
http://www.leap.cc/howard/
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 19:22:06 PT
Taylor
I haven't been watching the news for a while. I keep the news on incase something big happens and I would want to know but I mute the sound. I listen to music instead. If I want to watch plain and simple news I watch News World International from Canada. They seem to cover news better then any american channels do. I wish we got more news from other countries. Maybe in time we will.
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Comment #26 posted by Taylor121 on March 07, 2005 at 19:15:24 PT
Well
I get my real news from the webi from various sources.However, I do watch Foxnews programs such as O'Reilly because imo it's entertaining, but certainly not news.O'Reilly is a good show to watch simply because literally millions of others are watching at the same time. That is alot of exposure to politically minded people. As of late, O'Reilly has had the DPA's director of Safety First on twice in the last month, now this guy. So honestly, all the exposure he has given to marijuana and medical marijuana, I'm not going to fully complain. I know he's a jerk and he doesn't let our side get it's full word in, but he is MUCH better than say Hannity.
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on March 07, 2005 at 18:42:35 PT
It bothers me, too, FoM.
"I really mind arrogance."
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on March 07, 2005 at 18:41:01 PT
Mayan ...Comment #21
Dang! Another Trojan Horse?They...Antis... see them everywhere and I haven't even seen one. Must be a whole herd of them.They appear to be delusional.
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 18:33:58 PT
O'Reilly
Taylor I don't watch him or Fox because they like Bush. I avoid that channel with a passion after seeing Outfoxed. Maybe I'm not a good judge of O'Reilly since I just think he thinks he is hot stuff! I really mind arrogance.
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Comment #22 posted by Taylor121 on March 07, 2005 at 18:27:56 PT
O'Reilly
Honesty, I expected worse. He actually defended himself quite decently against O'Reilly's attacks and taking his quote out of context. He was able to finish the quote, offer an analogy to house O'Reilly talked about sex in his children's book, and was invited back to the factor to talk about legalizing marijuana. Honestly considering that was The Factor, I thought it was a success. Millions of people watch his show, so that's millions of people getting exposed to the idea that cannabis isn't all that bad of a drug for adults.:P
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Comment #21 posted by mayan on March 07, 2005 at 18:25:15 PT
Doesn't Hold Water
A spokesman for the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy said he was not familiar with the bill, but that the federal government’s policy on hemp was based on skepticism about its backers’ intent."The federal government’s hemp policies proceed from the understanding that hemp has been used as a Trojan horse of marijuana legalization," said Office of National Drug Control Policy spokesman Tom Riley.Many countries allow the cultivation of industrial hemp but maintain a ban on "marijuana". The U.S. government's argument just doesn't hold water. SHADOW OF THE SWASTIKA: The Real Reason the Government Won't Debate Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Re-legalization:
http://www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.htmlVote Hemp has a new website...Vote Hemp:
http://www.votehemp.com/
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 17:37:33 PT
If You Missed It
It was a typical O'Reilly spin and the man didn't have a chance to make his point. He wanted to know why he thanked George Soros at the end of the book. I appreciate George Soros too. People who support Bush sure seem to dislike George Soros.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 17:29:42 PT
It's Just a Plant
http://www.itsjustaplant.com/http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20301.shtml
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 17:27:41 PT
Heads Up: O'Reilly Factor Now
O'Reilly is having on the person who wrote the book It's Just a Plant. NOW!
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Comment #17 posted by aztoker420 on March 07, 2005 at 17:08:41 PT:
Hemp!
You know they can use hemp to make rope?!I'm tired of these RADICAL PROHIBITIONISTS denying us our freedom - no - our RIGHT to use this biblical plant to make wonderful, useful things like rope and fashionalbe jewelery. My uncle who lives with us is a construction worker and he says that they could TOTALLY use hemp rope to haul around pipes and building equipment (as long as it's not too heavy)As I type this I am wearing the holy sacrament around my neck as a necklace. My parents are so uncool that they have no idea it's weed. Let's all be in SOLIDARITY with the millions and millions of American farmers who are being denied the ability to profit from cannabis. Peace
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Comment #16 posted by siege on March 07, 2005 at 16:20:42 PT
OAPs hooked on cannabis
By Liam Christopher Daily Post Correspondent
PENSIONERS living in a Liverpool old folks' home got themselves hooked on cannabis after a taxi driver told them they could use the drug to ease their aches and pains.http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=15266017&method=full&siteid=50020&headline=oaps-hooked-on-cannabis-name_page.html
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 15:18:35 PT
In Vermont It Might Happen!
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20313.shtml
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Comment #14 posted by Sukoi on March 07, 2005 at 15:17:48 PT
Taylor121
The people around here (Del Rio) don't seem to be too receptive to the idea, but I'll certainly put it out. Thanks!!!Also, I heard yesterday that there was going to be something done on MMJ tonight. I'm pretty sure that I heard it on CNN but it may have been CBS. Does anyone have any info. about this?
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on March 07, 2005 at 15:13:59 PT
Bless Winston Dowland
How wonderful!I hope he's more successful than he ever imagined.
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Comment #12 posted by Taylor121 on March 07, 2005 at 15:09:24 PT
Sukoi
http://www.house.state.tx.us/media/welcome.phpIt will be Livestream 8 Tuesday, 2:00pm or upon adj. 03/08/05 - Criminal JurisprudenceSukoi, make sure you have spread the action alert to all your friends and family to have them email/call the committee!http://www.mpp.org/TX/action.html
This is the link to spread. Running short on time so Texans make use of the time we have and get as many people as possible to send their emails out today. :)Wish us luck and thanks to everyone in advance for putting out the effort!
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Comment #11 posted by Sukoi on March 07, 2005 at 15:02:52 PT
Taylor121
I live in Texas too, do you know where and when can the committee hearing be seen?Here is an OT article about the RCMP deaths:Dope and its dangershttp://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,1432415,00.html
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Comment #10 posted by Taylor121 on March 07, 2005 at 14:51:41 PT
A freshman legislator in vermont says legalize
MONTPELIER -- A freshman legislator from Holland has drafted a bill to legalize the sale of marijuana. Winston Dowland, a Progressive who last fall defeated the veteran Nancy Sheltra -- one of the most conservative lawmakers in the state - -- was carrying a bill in his pocket last week that would eliminate criminal penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. In a statement released this week, as he was making the rounds of Town Meetings in his district, Representative Dowland said he wants to initiate a public discussion. "I do not expect this proposal will be enacted this year," he said. "I hope it will get some hearings in the Legislature, though." The bill says the state's present law is not working to keep the illicit weed out of the hands of minors, and calls for a fundamental change in the state's attitude toward the drug. "A new approach is needed to meet the goals of preventing our children from using marijuana, discouraging adult misuses, and keeping our communities safe," says the bill. "By implementing a system of taxation and regulation, the state will maintain strict control of the cultivation and sale of marijuana, thereby removing its control from the criminal market." The bill would license marijuana wholesalers and retailers, and impose a retail tax. Sales would be limited to those 21 and older, and the measure calls for stiff penalties for those caught selling marijuana to minors. Representative Dowland, the sole sponsor of the bill, said in an interview last week that he realized that some may regard the bill as too hot to handle. In fact, when he told his wife what he planned to do, she warned he might be cutting his political life short. "That's alright," he said he told her. "I didn't come down here to make a career. "The reason why they elected me in the Northeast Kingdom is to come down here and make a difference," he added. Mr. Dowland noted there are safeguards in the bill, and touted the measure as a way of raising revenues to pay for health care programs connected to drug, alcohol, and tobacco use. Mr. Dowland added he is critical of an approach that is "putting people in jail for a couple lousy joints" at a time when the state is "worried about prison overcrowding." According to facts provided by the Representative, of the 1,785 marijuana charges resolved by Vermont courts last year, 87 percent were for misdemeanor possession charges of less than two ounces. Prison sentences were handed down in 255 convictions, of which 171 were for misdemeanor convictions. The bill is expected to be introduced on the House floor when the House returns from its Town Meeting break. Mr. Dowland serves on the House Committee of General, Housing, and Military Affairs. http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v05/n387/a06.htm?134
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Comment #9 posted by Taylor121 on March 07, 2005 at 14:50:22 PT
Thanks, let us hope
I have spread the word for the past few days on various forums and newsgroups getting Texans to write in to the committee. It should be interesting to see how it goes down. One cool thing about Texas is they film the committees, so we will all be able to watch it go down.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on March 07, 2005 at 14:24:22 PT
FoM
Certainly.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 14:12:24 PT
Hope
Good Luck to you! Please think about this for me. I have a niece that is very sick. She is one of 8 children and has more then one serious ailment. My sister flew down to Austin to be with her for a while. She is a sweet person and goes to Church. She would never even try Cannabis unless it was allowed. Think of her today for me too.
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on March 07, 2005 at 13:55:49 PT
Texas Tomorrow
It couldn't hurt to do a little "door knocking" concerning the matter.Luke 11L5Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.’ 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness[e] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (I know. I've knocked so long I've passed bloody knuckles and proceeded to deep callouses. But...my Soul Man said "Knock"...so I'm knocking.)
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 08:54:07 PT
Taylor121
I just want to say good luck to you tomorrow in Texas.
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Comment #4 posted by Taylor121 on March 07, 2005 at 08:43:31 PT
Great news
And yes Sam you are right!*claps*
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 08:21:05 PT
Press Release from U.S. Newswire
Hemp Farming Legislation Gaining Momentum; Four States Likely to Pass Bills This Year-Federal Legislation Coming This SpringMarch 7, 2005Washington -- Vote Hemp -- http://www.votehemp.com/ -- a non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of industrial hemp, believes that four state legislatures are likely to pass legislation this year that would allow farmers and researchers to grow industrial hemp. In California, New Hampshire, Oregon and North Dakota business leaders, farmers and legislators are backing legislation that would bring back hemp farming almost 50 years after the crop was taken away from farmers who grew the versatile plant for centuries."Hemp farming has become a lucrative crop for farmers in Europe, Canada and Asia, so farmers here are asking 'Why are we being left out?'" says Alexis Baden-Mayer, director of Government Relations for Vote Hemp. "The states considering hemp legislation this year are serious about the issue despite the federal government's de-facto ban on hemp cultivation that stems from marijuana prohibition. Regardless of the federal ban, state legislators are listening to farmers and business people who think the federal restrictions are not based on scientific arguments and actually hurt U.S. economic interests since it is legal to import, process, sell and consume hemp seed and hemp fiber products."For thousands of years different varieties of Cannabis have been cultivated for non-drug uses such as paper, canvas, soap, food, building materials and recently high-tech bio-composites used in automobiles. Hemp and marijuana come from different varieties of the Cannabis plant. "Because there are at least 1.5 million cars on the road with hemp door panels, tens of millions of dollars spent annually on hemp food and hemp body care and hemp paper is being made in the U.S., people are asking tough questions about why the U.S. government won't distinguish low-THC hemp from high-THC drug varieties. I believe there will be federal legislation soon to address needed reforms," says Baden-Mayer.Highlights of State Hemp LegislationOver the past decade at least twenty-five pro-hemp bills have been considered by state legislatures and fourteen have become law. Five states, Hawaii, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia allow for hemp farming on a commercial or research basis. Bills to be considered this year include:California - Assembly Bill 1147 would give farmers the right to apply for state licenses to grow low THC varieties of hemp. The law would be similar to regulations on industrial hemp in other countries such as Canada and the European Union. The University of California would also conduct research on industrial hemp.New Hampshire - House Bill 55-FN-A would let farmers apply for a state license to grow industrial hemp. Qualifying farmers must have no criminal convictions and plant at least five acres per year. Only hemp seed that was sold to farmers by the New Hampshire Commissioner of Agriculture would be approved to be planted to ensure only low THC varieties of plant are grown.North Dakota - House Bill 1492 passed the House on February 16 and passed the Senate on March 1 and is awaiting action by the Governor. HB 1492 allows North Dakota State University to start storing "feral hemp seed" in preparation for the day in which it becomes legal to grow industrial hemp in the United States. The vote in the House was 87-3 and in Senate was 46-0. In 1999 North Dakota was the first state to pass hemp farming legislation but to date has not challenged federal supremacy over the issue in the courts.Oregon - Senate Bill 294 permits production and possession of industrial hemp and trade in industrial hemp commodities and products. The bill authorizes the State Department of Agriculture to administer a licensing, permitting and inspection program for growers and handlers of industrial hemp.To: National Desk, Legal Reporter Contact: Adam Eidinger, 202-744-2671, for Vote HempCopyright: 2005 U.S. Newswirehttp://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=43939
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 08:00:56 PT
Sam
I agree that this is a great idea.
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on March 07, 2005 at 07:59:34 PT
distant cousin?
Hmmm, what is the exact species of industrial hemp? Cannabis Sativa. What is the illicit crop? Cannabis Sativa.Hey, they can spin it however they want. This bill is a great idea.
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